Unbelted rear passengers 'biggest danger in crash'

THE risks of dying in the front seat during a car crash increase fivefold if passengers in the back refuse to wear seat-belts, a new study shows.

Analysis of 100,000 accidents has found that unbelted back seat passengers pose the biggest threat to drivers and front seat passengers.

If rear seat-belts had been used in all the accidents studied, the deaths of almost 80 per cent of belted front seat occupants could have been avoided, the report concludes.

Although it became compulsory to wear rear seatbelts in 1991, more than half of all passengers still refuse to use them. Men are more reluctant to wear them than women.

During a car accident at 30mph, a typical rear passenger is flung forward at 30mph with a force of 3.5tons. That is enough to crush the driver or front passenger fatally. The heavier the passenger, the more damage they cause.

Related Articles

The new study came from Dr Masao Ichikawa, of Tokyo University, who reported the findings in The Lancet.

His team studied records of about 74,000 drivers and 30,000 front seat passengers involved in collisions. Of these, 211 drivers and 173 front seat passengers died.

"The risk of death of drivers and front seat passengers who used seat-belts was increased about fivefold when rear seat occupants were unrestrained."

In head-on collisions, the risks for front seat occupants increased six or seven times if rear passengers were not strapped in, he said. "Our findings provide a basis for making rear seat-belt use compulsory.